Public Land Deer Hunting: A Thing of The Past?

Could a state really “sell off” its public hunting opportunities? In this day and age, I guess anything is possible, but that is exactly what some folks think might happen in Wisconsin if Gov. Scott Walker has his way.

According to an article released last week, Wisconsin is about to go the way of Europe if Walker and his newly appointed deer czar get their way. If this happens, the group claims, public land hunters will get the shaft. The deer herd no longer would be managed as a public resource, but as the private property of wealthy landowners. Wisconsin will become like Europe, where hunting is the privilege of the wealthy.

This articleis a bit like many political attack ads that we are seeing on TV. They take a true statement but then give it a context different than the whole truth so as to create a horror scenario.

It is true that Wisconsin deer czar James Kroll (aka “Dr. Deer”) has made some scary statements since Walker hired him (for $150,000 a year) to review the state’s deer management program. Even more scary is the fact that Kroll is a founder of the Texas Deer Association (a captive deer breeders group). He is also a principal apologist for the captive cervid industry and comes from a different planet (Texas) where privatization rules.

The DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp also talked of selling public land, but most think this will be truly limited to so-called “surplus” property (residential lots and structures willed to the DNR). She will not be selling wildlife management areas, state parks, or state forests. Most state land is protected by statute and there would obviously be serious push-back from the public if the Legislature went down that road.

Long before the Walker Administration took over, Wisconsin deer managers have agonized over the privatization trend and have asked themselves whether the European Model will be an unfortunate inevitability for Wisconsin deer hunters. Over the past three decades, the sale of most farmer-owned woodlots to recreational owners has resulted in tight exclusive use of what formerly was free-by-permission hunting. QDM, DMAP, and the demand for public-land and private-land antlerless permits are catalysts driving us in that direction.

Regardless of who’s in charge, it is very likely that some of these new initiatives and recommendations will push us further down that path.